Stolen art has been recovered when offered to police sting operations or to legitimate buyers or dealers, who detect that the offered art is stolen through catalogs of stolen items circulated among dealers, auction houses, museums and police or by their consulting the International Art Loss Register, to which any one, not just major art holders, can report thefts.
In France dealers must register all purchased art, except what is bought at auction.
Similar art registry laws are expected in Britain.
Good photographic and other documentation uniquely describing the item and circumstances of its theft, are essential for the success of such registries in identifying possible stolen items.
Recovery has come after a tip from a witness, accomplice or a citizen just reporting, anonymously or not, something suspicious, or in response to publicity by authorities, the owners or other interested parties, with or without a reward.
Thieves or illicit buyers may intentionally or inadvertently let others know they have the items, which creates an information trail followed by authorities.
Ransom attempts expose thieves to capture.
Stolen art has just been abandoned in public places, come across by citizens, or in the course of routine police activities, like traffic stops.
Police have conducted broad searches of areas where stolen items might possibly be.
Arrests were made in about 22 of the roughly 50 art theft incidents reported in the data, indicating, if anything, more about general press interest in arrests, per se, than in all but the highest profile art thefts.
